Then you’re going to need a content strategy.

Absolutely not.

Research has proven time and time again that no matter the size of your business you need to have a documented research strategy.

In fact, businesses that have a documented content marketing strategy are:

More likely to consider themselves effective at content marketing.

Less challenged with every aspect of content marketing.

More effective in using content marketing tactics and social media channels.

Able to justify spending a higher percentage of their marketing budget on content marketing.

What Exactly is a Content Strategy?

Make no mistake about. There’s a lot of value in having a content strategy. It guides you in setting audience expectations and determining the type of content to create, as well as the amount of resources that you’re going to devote to content.

Additionally, a content strategy can help you improve or grow your business since it may help you uncover new business ideas.

For example, if you run a lumber yard and made DIY project videos, you may notice that your most popular videos are the ones that instruct viewers on how to build a treehouse. Because of that, you could start a company that sells pre-assemble tree-houses.

But, what is a content strategy?

There are numerous definitions, but I’ve found that Moz has a pretty clear description:

“Content strategy concerns itself with the vision—the ins and outs of how and why your content will be created, managed, and eventually archived or updated. It looks at all of the content your customers ever encounter” and “overlaps with content marketing.”

Ultimately, when you have a content strategy, it will simplify your business since it lets you know how to improve your business since you have to review your goals and know who your audience is and what they’re interested in.

What Should a Content Marketing Strategy Include?

A content strategy is an outline or vision that explains the reason why you’re producing content. You will decide who you're producing this content for.

You will choose in what format you’re going to be producing this content. Best of all, you will determine how you’re going to create this content.

It's important to determine how you’re going to promote your content. And finally, you'll conclude how you’re going to measure your efforts.

While there is no one-size-fits-all template, effective content strategies typically contain the following components:

Communicating your reasons for creating content, the risks involved, and what your vision of success will look like. This will help you gain the support of stakeholders since this is going to be a long-term strategy.

The goals that you hope to achieve for your content program, the unique value you’re looking to provide, and the details of your business model.

Understanding your audience, such as who your ideal prospects are, how they make buying decisions, what their pain points are, and they’re preferred methods of communication.

Your brand’s story. What differentiates you from the competition? What makes your brand unique?

What platforms are you going to use to tell your brand’s story?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that measure the effectiveness of your strategy. This could include traffic volume, engagement, popular onsite content, goal completions, and onsite search queries.

Steps to Create a Killer Small Business Content Marketing Strategy

Fortunately for small businesses, content marketing is approachable, affordable, and easy to kick start by following these three easy steps:

Do your homework. Research your audience, competition, industry trends, and platforms where your audience hangs out. You won’t be able to launch an effective strategy with this information.

Set goals. Develop a specific list of goals for your content strategy, such as your main objective, deadlines, and how much time and money you’re going to invest.

Draft. After you know what you want to achieve, it’s time to start producing your content in different phrases. Also think about who will take over these responsibilities down the road. And, leave some wiggle room in case you have to adjust your strategy.

How Often Should You Update Your Content Marketing Strategy?

Once you’ve created your content strategy, it should remain the same for the foreseeable future - even as your marketing program continues to grow and evolve.

However, you should review your strategy annually by going over your KPIs to make sure that your content strategy remains on target and make the appropriate updates if needed.

Conclusion

Marketing is one of the biggest challenges that small businesses must overcome. While it is an investment, having a documented content strategy will not only simplify your content marketing efforts, it will also help grow and improve your business.